This project is led by Ylias Sabri, a researcher from the Australian university RMIT, who started this line of research years ago to propose a circular economy in this sector, and to prevent, as happens in many countries, that discarded panels end up in landfills. “This can happen both because the panels are malfunctioning and because they reach the end of their useful life, around 25 or 30 years,” they point out.

During the past week, and also on June 17 and 18, a delegation from RMIT composed of six researchers and one of the collaborating companies have maintained contacts with both the UCLM and other companies that could potentially be interested in the results of the project.

Spain and Australia were some of the countries that have led the implementation of photovoltaic solar energy installations, and therefore they will also be among the first countries that, on a large scale, will have to provide solutions to the dismantling, or improvement (revamping) of these types of installations. “Therefore, the potential of this new industry should also be taken into account, along with the need for new jobs to develop it.”

The project also involves EDIPAE (Engineering for Energy Saving), a small company from Tomelloso led by engineer Carlos Miralles who, due to his previous provisional experience in Australia, put RMIT in contact with the IER, when the proposal was being prepared that finally received funding from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water of the Australian Government (ICIRN000011).

Other universities, research centers and companies participate in the project, such as New York University, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (India), King’s College London, My Second Life Solar, or HP Energy among others.

RMIT is a global university of technology, design and enterprise. It is among the top 200 universities in the world (QS University Rankings 2022) and is internationally known for its excellence in applied research and in the teaching of higher education. RMIT’s local and international campuses have some of the most technologically advanced facilities in the world, ranging from the MicroNano research facility to the RMIT commercial operations facility (RTF).

RMIT’s main campus is located in the heart of Melbourne city, although it is also a very distributed university. The university has three campuses and two headquarters in Australia, two campuses in Vietnam, a research and industry collaboration center in Spain, and more than 200 partnerships with institutions in 42 countries.

UCLM Communication Office.
Albacete, June 18, 2024